Cleanse
by The World Only Began Today
Summary: After her horrific experience in Darkrai's nightmare world, Kate is on indefinite leave from her duties as a Pokemon Ranger. No one is more determined to see Kate recovered than Kellyn, her Ranger partner and best friend. Will Kate be able to heal from the trauma of Darkrai's shadow world-or will the darkness consume her from the inside out? Shadows of Almia, KellynxKate
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, friends! The World Only Began Today here. I am excited to share my four-part KellynxKate story with you all! The story is set in the gameverse after Darkrai's dramatic capture at Altru Inc., an event the characters refer to as "Darkrai's rebellion". I take liberties with imagining Kellyn as Kate's official Ranger partner; therefore, he was with Kate for the story's climax, not Keith. But never fear! Keith and Rhythmi are a fun part of this story… **

**Without further ado, I hope you enjoy!**

* * *

I awoke to rain drumming a gentle staccato on the cabin roof. The world outside my window was gray and peaceful, a little blurred by the streaks of water running down the glass pane, but beautiful and beckoning like an invitation all the same. It was a stark contrast to the nightmare I had just woken from. Shoving the dark thoughts back, I tossed aside my twisted sheets, scooped up a wrinkled sweatshirt from the floor, and padded to the door of the still-quiet cabin.

Weak, watery light filtered through the slate gray slab of the sky. It was earlier than I originally thought, and cooler too. The sweatshirt I pulled over my head matched the clouds: soft, gray, oversized, comforting. The fabric nestled my skin with the gentleness of a Minccino as I curled up on the swinging bench and tugged the material over my goosebump-covered shins. Thunder rumbled in the distance like an empty threat, intimidating but lacking strength.

I don't know how long I sat there before the cabin door creaked open again, emitting a rumpled and sleepy-eyed Kellyn. He stood a moment, blinking as if the sun shone directly in his eyes instead of straining to penetrate the thick cloud cover. He turned to me, a crooked smile sliding onto his face, but not before I noticed his expression soften with relief.

"Hey. You're up early." His voice was sleep-roughened as he sauntered toward me, hands in pockets, his gait as lithe and gracefully athletic as it had ever been. If not for the bulky brace encasing his left shoulder, anyone would have guessed he was in tip-top condition.

"I could say the same to you." I replied, scooting over a bit as he lowered himself next to me. The swing jerked, then resumed its gentle rocking as our weight settled. Kellyn's good arm stretched behind my head along the length of the swing, his solid warmth mere inches away tempting me more than I cared to admit. I tightened my grip on my knees.

"I got up to use the bathroom and noticed your door was open." He shrugged, his ice blue gaze focused on the rivulets of rain spilling off the cabin roof. "Thought I'd check on you, make sure you're alright."

He said it nonchalantly, as if it were normal that he would need to check on me. As if it were normal that only one of his arms worked properly. As if it were normal that we were here in a cozy cabin tucked deep in the Fiore mountains instead of in Almia doing the only job we'd ever trained to do. He said it as if I wouldn't normally have scoffed at him for saying such a thing, for implying I was vulnerable in any way. He said it as if nothing had happened to flip the world upside down.

"Thanks." I meant to sound normal, but my voice came out softer than I intended. Breathy and tense.

Scared.

I swallowed hard, hoping Kellyn would attribute my shivering to the dank morning chill. I felt his gaze rest on me.

"More nightmares?"

His voice was a low, gentle rumble. I nodded, unable to look at him. Afraid that if I did, I wouldn't be able to hold back the tears I felt building behind my eyes.

"I honestly thought they would have stopped by now." My voice was hardly more than a whisper. "I guess I was wrong."

Kellyn's arm drifted down to rest across my shoulders, the gentle pressure reassuring and steadying. He took a breath as if to speak.

"Aww, man, it's _raining?_"

Kellyn and I jumped at Keith's bawling voice. I hadn't even noticed him appear at the door Kellyn forgot to close. Judging by how Kellyn's head whipped around, I assumed he hadn't either.

"The day I decide to get out of bed and do something with myself, it _rains_? Seriously?" Keith ran a frustrated hand through his shaggy red hair before jamming it back into his pocket. "And it's freezing too!"

"I'm impressed you feel even remotely cold with all those layers on," Kellyn commented dryly.

My mouth twitched up into a smirk. Keith's black Almia Ranger sweatshirt bulged to the point of comedy, a testament to the number of shirts he had somehow managed to stuff under it. Combined with the black sweatpants and fluffy white socks cushioning his feet, he looked like a Snorlax—a very unhappy Snorlax. I considered pointing out the similarity, but my heart just wasn't into it.

"How many shirts did you fit under there?" Kellyn stretched out his jogger-clad legs and crossed his ankles. "Ten?"

Keith scowled at his roommate and best friend. "Don't be ridiculous. Only eight."

I blinked. "Jeez, Keith. How many shirts did you bring?"

"Oh, they're not all mine. Some of them are Kellyn's."

"Dude!" Kellyn snatched a broken capture disc from the side table and slung it at his roommate. Keith dodged to the side, his hand just barely darting out in time to snatch the disc from the air before it hit the scowling blond figure emerging from the cabin.

"Boys, didn't anyone ever tell you that hurling random objects is _not_ the way to solve a disagreement?" Rhythmi looked like a bright pink avenging angel in her fuzzy knit sweater and black leggings. Matching pink boots thudded indignantly against the wooden floorboards as she stomped past Keith, ignoring his sheepish grin. Her expression softened with concern as she focused on me. "How are you feeling, Kate? Did you sleep well?"

Heat climbed my neck as three pairs of eyes fastened on me, all earlier squabbles forgotten.

"I'm fine," I managed to squeak out, hoping that Rhythmi wouldn't notice that I avoided her second question. Her eyes narrowed, but I jumped to my feet. "I'm hungry. What's for breakfast?"

The thought of food made my stomach do nauseated somersaults, but I was grasping for anything to deflect attention. I barely resisted the urge to squirm as Rhythmi scrutinized me, but I managed. It wasn't that I didn't want her to know what was really going on inside of me. But Rhythmi had already sacrificed so much for me in coming to Fiore—all three of my friends had—and I desperately wanted to give them some hope of progress, even if it was smaller than what I was portraying.

I must have passed muster, because Rhythmi smiled. Turning to Keith, her smile turned sickly sweet.

"You heard Kate. She's hungry. And _you_ are next on the meal prep list I made, so get cooking."

"Aww, c'mon, Rhythmi, I made something yesterday!"

"You made an ice cream sundae. _For yourself._ I hardly count that as a major contribution to the team."

"I gave you a bite, didn't I?" Keith snapped, his layers of sweatshirts just barely allowing him to cross his arms in defiance.

"Only because I pointed out that you weren't even sharing with your girlfriend." Kellyn snorted as he got to his feet. Keith opened his mouth, but Kellyn clasped his shoulder. "Come on, Snorlax. I'll help you rustle us up some grub."

"_Snorlax?"_

"Oh, don't take pity on him, Kellyn." Rhythmi groaned. "Make him suffer—please. I would enjoy it."

"It's not pity. It's self-protection." Kellyn jostled Keith's shoulder. "Have you ever seen this guy cook? He'll need a few pointers if we want to avoid food poisoning."

Rhythmi sighed heavily, but her lips twitched. "In that case, maybe we'd all better pitch in this time. I'll revise my meal prep schedule so Keith is never alone in the kitchen."

"Oh, c'mon!"

"No, _you _come on." Rhythmi took her boyfriend's hand and threaded her fingers through his, her smile finally letting loose in its full, toothy glory. "We'll help you this time, you big lug. But you'll have to take off some layers so you can move."

"At least it will be warm in the kitchen." A frown still marred Keith's face, but his girlfriend's touch seemed to sooth him.

"As much as you guys roasted him, I'm surprised he's still cold." I quipped to Kellyn as Rhythmi and Keith's voices faded. I expected him to smile, but his gaze pierced me. Rhythmi might have fallen for my quick change of subject, but Kellyn knew I barely slept a wink last night, just like the night before. And the night before that.

We stood there for a moment, his gaze searching with gentle persistence the parts of me that only he had permission to. I loved Rhythmi, and Keith was a good friend, but Kellyn was my Ranger partner. He knew me better than anyone else, and he knew I was not as fine as I pretended to be.

"It's okay to not be okay," Kellyn said finally, softly. I clenched my fists to keep them from trembling. I blinked, stubbornly refusing to let the pressure building behind my eyes form into tears.

"I know." I said, but I lied through my teeth. Kellyn knew it too, but he didn't say anything. He knew me well enough not to push the issue.

A small smile crept to his mouth as he nudged the door open. "Come on. There were some sharp knives in that kitchen—let's make sure Keith and Rhythmi don't murder each other."


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello, all! As promised, here is the second chapter of my four-part Pokemon Ranger piece. I hope you enjoy! In this chapter, we get a peek at what's going through Kellyn's mind.**

**Feel free to leave kind, constructive criticism—I'd love to hear from you!**

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Kellyn watched Kate out of the corner of his eye as he cracked eggs into a bowl. Though she smiled at Keith's and Rhythmi's antics, there was a hollowness to her gaze—a hollowness she hadn't shaken since the night of Darkrai's rebellion.

Kellyn suppressed a shiver. It had been the worst night of his life, one he too would sometimes rather forget. If he hadn't encouraged Kate to go on without him while he finished that Rampardos's capture, he wouldn't have reinjured his shoulder. Maybe then she wouldn't have faced Darkrai alone, wouldn't have been caught off guard by the Pokémon's illusions, wouldn't have fallen into the shadow world. Somehow, she'd managed to capture the Pokémon from inside its own hellish realm, but she'd emerged haunted, only a shell of herself.

He should have been there with her. He was her Ranger partner, after all—but he'd failed her. And that haunted _him_.

Rhythmi's squeal brought him out of his mental hole. A grinning Keith bolted from the room as Rhythmi charged after him, covered in powdered pancake mix and wielding a spatula like a sword. Chuckling, Kellyn glanced at Kate, hoping to share the light moment with her—only to find her staring vacantly at the table. All amusement drained from his heart, replaced by leaden weight at the glazed look in her eyes. Her hands—had they always looked so small?—clutched her coffee mug as she rocked slowly back and forth, staring but not really seeing what was in front of her. It was an expression Kellyn was beginning to easily recognize and vehemently despise: she was back in the shadow world.

Abandoning the eggs, Kellyn gingerly eased himself onto the seat next to her. Gently, he brushed his hand over hers.

"Kate."

She jolted away as if he'd screamed in her face, her mug clattering to the table. Hot coffee splashed out, eliciting a hiss of pain as the hot liquid scalded his fingers. Kate blinked rapidly, as if coming out of a trance, her eyes focusing on Kellyn's reddening hand.

"Oh my gosh, Kellyn!" Her hands flew to her mouth.

"It's okay!" Kellyn tucked his burned hand under the table, his other reaching out to her. "It's okay."

"It's not okay." Kate popped to her feet, but not before he saw her mouth wobble the way it always did when she tried not to cry. Dashing to the freezer, she returned to the table with a glassful of ice, her expression once again schooled into a tightly controlled mask. "Put some ice on your hand."

"Really, Kate, I'm fine."

With a glare that could freeze Boyleland over, she pulled on his arm until he reluctantly laid his burned hand on the table. Her expression faltered, but she forged on nonetheless, gently tugging his hand open and icing the blistering skin with surprising tenderness. Her soft touch made his insides feel woozy, just as it had for the past few months. He knew what the wooziness meant—he wasn't an idiot—but now definitely wasn't the time to be making romantic declarations, so he steeled his heart against the attraction.

As if to underscore how far her thoughts were from his, Kate murmured, "I'm sorry."

"Kate." Kellyn waited until she met his gaze. "It's okay. Really. I understand."

Kellyn watched the emotions warring in her gaze, wishing with everything within him that he could somehow still those raging waves. She let him in more than anyone else, yet there were still places she hadn't allowed him to touch.

"I know you do," She said finally, quietly. Her shoulders curled in, as if all the fight had gone out of her, like a limp sail on a windless day.

Anger welled up inside Kellyn's midsection. This wasn't Kate—not really. The shadow world had stolen the real Kate, returning only a lifeless husk in her place. But Kellyn wasn't about to give up on the Kate he knew was still there—not without a fight.

"Let's go for a run this afternoon."

Kate blinked up at him, surprised by his sudden change of subject. He steadily met her gaze.

"Alright."

He grinned, and after a moment, she tentatively returned it. He had an idea, one that he became more and more confident of with each passing moment. One that, hopefully, would help restore his best friend's life.


	3. Chapter 3

**Welcome back to my story! The World Only Began Today here. I am super excited to share part three of 'Cleanse' with you guys…aaaaaaaand definitely more than a little nervous! (insert smiling emoji with tear-drop here) **

**To be completely honest, I am terrified of rejection. This is the first full story that I've published ****anywhere, ever****—it's a vulnerable place to be! All the what-ifs are running through my head: **_**what if people don't like it? What if they think it's too cheesy? What if it's not original enough, not edited enough, not—not—not—**_

**Fill in the blank—you get the idea.**

**Thank you for taking the time to read this story. Thank you to everyone who has left a comment or followed 'Cleanse'. It literally means the world to me as I step out into the unknown and take what is, for me, a huge risk.**

**Feel free to leave a kind, constructive comment! I do want to get better at this craft of writing. **** Now, without further ado—chapter three!**

* * *

_In, two-three-four; out, two-three-four; in, two-three-four; out, two-three-four._

I counted my breaths to pace myself as I jogged down the densely wooded path. I could hear Kellyn's footfalls behind me as we dipped under low-hanging branches and skirted muddy patches left over from the morning rain. The sun had finally broken through the clouds around midmorning, drying the ground enough for Kellyn and I to don our workout clothes and make a circuit around one of the cabin's many trails.

The forest teemed with Pokémon, scuttling, soaring, and scurrying about the undergrowth. A couple curious Furret raised their heads above the foliage as we passed by, while a shy Surskit danced rapidly out of our path. It was beautiful, and combined with the pleasant exhaustion of exertion, I almost felt peaceful.

The trail opened out to a wildflower-laden meadow, where a few cautious Stantler and Deerling grazed alongside one another.

"Stop here," Kellyn called. Slowing to a halt, I crossed my arms behind my head and counted my breathing, wondering why Kellyn needed to stop. He usually could keep this pace for several miles without a break. I wondered if his shoulder was bothering him.

"Here. Catch." My hands automatically came up to catch the dark object whizzing toward me. I flinched when I recognized it was a Vatonage styler.

"Kellyn—" I began.

"There are tons of Pokémon around here." Kellyn's voice was deceptively nonchalant as he strapped his own styler to his non-burned hand. "I thought we could have a little competition, see who could capture the most in five minutes."

Panic rose like bile in my throat.

"Kellyn, I _can't_."

"You can."

"I haven't used a styler since—" I swallowed, took a breath, forced the words out on a whisper, "—since that night."

His eyes connected with mine, ice-blue yet somehow warmer than a Charizard's fire. Tingles ran down my spine as he continued to stare, altogether unrelated to my reluctance to use a styler.

"Kate, you're one of the best Top Rangers Almia has ever seen. Don't let Darkrai steal that from you."

I flinched at the Pokémon's name. Kellyn's expression softened, but he didn't back down.

"You can do this, Kate. I'm with you. One hundred percent."

I fought to hold his gaze, to allow his simple confidence to infuse me with strength—and an altogether different feeling, one that I wasn't yet ready to fully consider. My fingers toyed with the straps of the styler in my hand.

"What about your shoulder?"

Kellyn guffawed.

"What, this old thing?" He gestured to the brace encasing his upper arm. "Won't slow me down at all. I use my right hand for captures."

Still I hesitated. He raised an eyebrow.

"Unless you're making excuses because you're afraid you'll lose?"

That did it.

Kellyn gave an excited whoop as I slid my hand into the capture glove, pleasantly surprised by the near-perfect fit. I flexed my styler hand, setting the timer function for five minutes. "When do we start?"

"On your mark."

I turned so I was facing the opposite direction.

"Get set."

I focused on my first target, a Spinarak weaving an intricate web in the trees.

"_GO!_"

I surged forward, capture disc flying from my styler like an extension of my arm. My capture line arced electric blue from one target to the next as I captured first the Spinarak, then a Furret, then a Poliwhirl. I leapt over bushes and fallen logs, capturing a group of Bidoof with a simple flick of my wrist before turning my attention to a flock of Pidgy and Pidgeotto startled into flying overhead. Blood surged through my veins, and I let out an elated laugh. I hadn't felt so alive, so free, since Darkrai's rebellion.

My styler beeped out a one-minute warning, and I pivoted, dashing back toward the meadow with captured Pokémon in tow. I captured a Grovyle mid-leap through the trees, then put on a burst of speed as my styler counted down the remaining seconds. I burst into the clearing just as the buzzer sounded.

"Time!" I heard Kellyn shout. Laughing, I turned my head to count my captured Pokémon, only to feel my body collide with something hard in front of me—Kellyn. He tried to catch me, but our feet tangled together, and we went down. Kellyn twisted to take the brunt of the fall, grunting as I sprawled on top of him. My breath whooshed from my lungs, and I lay there, momentarily winded.

Gradually, I came to realize the rapid thumping sound I heard was Kellyn's heartbeat—my head lay even with his chest. With a gasp, I jolted upward, face flaming.

"Oh my gosh, I'm so sorry! Are you okay?! Your shoulder—"

I tried to roll off him, but Kellyn's arm wrapped like a steel band around my waist. Caught off guard, my hands found purchase on his shoulders, bringing my face even with his.

"Kellyn—"

My voice died on my lips as my gaze met his, only inches from my own. The look in his eyes seared me to the core. Awareness scorched through my body like a wildfire at every place we touched, making my heart thunder in my chest just as I'd heard Kellyn's beating moments before. His gaze dropped to my lips, and my mouth went dry.

He looked at me like…like he wanted to kiss me.

And I looked at him like I wanted to let him.

"WYNAUT?!"

A tiny screech escaped my mouth as a bulbous blue face appeared next to me. Kellyn's grip around my middle faltered, and I rolled off him as the voice repeated, "WYNAUT?"

"A _Wynaut_?" Disbelief colored Kellyn's voice as the tiny blue Pokémon bent over us, and I couldn't help it—I burst out laughing. Kellyn quickly joined me, and there we were, sprawled on the forest floor busting a gut as the Wynaut frolicked over us.

"You had to capture a _Wynaut_?" I finally gasped out, brushing aside tears of laughter with my thumb.

"Wait, I thought Wynaut was _your_ capture," Kellyn said, propping himself up on his elbow.

I blinked. "You mean neither of us captured it?"

We both stared at the Pokémon in question.

"WYNAUT!" The Pokémon leapt away from us, bouncing around the heels of the Pokémon we had _actually_ captured.

I giggled, pushing myself up into a sitting position. "I guess it didn't want to miss out on the fun."

"Kind of wish it had waited a little longer to join the party." Kellyn muttered. My heart leapt, but the moment had passed. Kellyn got to his feet and helped me up. I took a moment to survey the Pokémon he'd captured as I brushed leaf debris from my leggings.

"Not bad," I said as I counted a Stantler, a Vileplume, a couple of Oddish, and even a Rhydon among his haul, "but I think I won."

"Okay, yeah, looks like you captured more. But if you count size—"

"Which we aren't."

"Just hear me out—"

"What I _hear_ is that you're a sore loser." I poked him in the chest, my cocky smirk daring him to keep up the banter.

Instead of jumping at my bait like I expected, his gaze seemed to soften. My heart jolted as he reached out, knuckles brushing my cheek as he gently tucked a stray strand of hair behind my ear.

"Welcome back, Kate." His eyes glowed with warmth. "I missed you."


End file.
